YEAR IN REVIEW: A closer look at 2017 around the world

Saturday

Dec 30, 2017 at 8:45 AM

By Melissa EricksonMore Content Now

It was a year of conflict and protest. We hunkered down for savage storms and the election continued to be controversial, with complaints of Russian meddling refusing to fade. North Korea’s threats provoked anger and anxiety, terror attacks occurred across the globe, and the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history devastated the country. In a powerful show of science and nature, the moon eclipsed the sun. We also lost many notable bright lights who passed in 2017.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria

With a chart-topping number of active, and destructive storms, the 2017 hurricane season was one of the worst on record. It was the first time three Category 4 storms made landfall on the continental United States in the same season with Harvey, Irma and Maria clobbering Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, causing death and hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.

Overall there were 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes and six Category 3 or higher hurricanes during the Atlantic season. The average for an Atlantic season is 10 named storms and six hurricanes, 2.5 of which are major.

Americans displayed their right to protest as they stood up, took a knee, marched together and even threw punches to call attention to varied causes.

The protest year started off immediately after President Trump took office, with massive marches Jan. 21 across the country to speak up for women’s rights. Protests continued March 8 on A Day without Women, when supporters skipped work and kept their wallets closed to demonstrate political and economic strength.

Billed as an effort to “take America back,” hundreds of white nationalists and neo-Nazis gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, Aug. 12 carrying lit tiki torches and Confederate flags. Met with counter-protesters, the event descended into violence, leaving three people dead, including one killed when a car plowed into a crowd.

This year also saw the rise of the violent left, or Antifa, which is short for “anti-fascist.” This broad group employs radical tactics and is the reason #PunchANazi started trending on social media.

What NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick started in 2016 as a protest of police brutality mushroomed into a divisive national debate. With President Trump tweeting disparaging remarks and billionaire owners kneeling in solidarity with players, fans and Americans are caught in the middle of this protest than has surged beyond its original goal to include social and racial injustice.

North Korea drama

Does North Korea present a clear and present danger to America?

The country’s threats are nothing new, but its escalating bluster makes experts question just how potent they really are. After decades of bipartisan bungling and failure on other fronts that include diplomacy, economic sanctions or military action, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un pursued a war of words.

Trump vowed to “totally destroy” North Korea and called Kim “rocketman,” who responded that Trump is a “dotard” and “mentally deranged.” Meanwhile, the Hermit Kingdom’s nuclear weapons program continued to show credible evidence of miniaturizing a nuclear weapon to fit onto an intercontinental missile and U.S. bombers flew in international airspace over the waters of North Korea.

Election meddling

It started with Hillary Clinton’s emails, which were hacked from both her personal account and Democratic National Committee headquarters, as she ran for president.

While Democrats claimed Russia was responsible, then candidate Donald Trump said he knew nothing about the theft but invited Russia to find the emails that were missing. The intelligence community suspected election tampering but had no evidence that it altered the vote count on Election Day. Instead, intelligence officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a multifaceted campaign that included pro-Trump propaganda and social media trolls paid to create Clinton controversies. Swirling the controversy were multiple interactions between Trump associates and Russian agents including Trump’s national security advisor Michael Flynn (who resigned in February after a month on the job) meeting with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office.

In September, the Department of Homeland Security found evidence of Russia’s attempts to break into election systems in 21 states during the election.

Solar eclipse

The sky darkened for the first total solar eclipse visible from coast to coast in the United States in 99 years, and the first to be viewed in America in the smartphone age.

An estimated 88 percent of the population donned special glasses to watch the eclipse Aug. 21 — that’s nearly twice the viewership of the Feb. 5 Super Bowl in which the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons. While we may still be arguing about climate change, pretty much everyone got on board to watch the astronomical wonder. The lucky few who planned ahead were treated to totality, a path that began in Oregon and touched 14 states. The rest of the United States made do with a partial yet educational and exciting eclipse.

Congressmen shot

On June 14 in Alexandria, Virginia, members of Congress were practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity when House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a republican from Louisiana, was shot by a gunman who appeared to have targeted members of Congress. Three others were wounded including a Capitol Police officer assigned to protect Scalise, a congressional aide and a lobbyist. During the 10-minute ordeal, the gunman was seen standing and shooting; police immediately returned fire as players ran for the dugout to shelter.

The shooter was a left-wing activist from Illinois. Shot in the hip, Scalise was the most seriously wounded with the bullet fracturing bones and internal organs. He returned to the House Sept. 28 and spoke about the experience saying he was ”absolutely” as strong as ever on the Second Amendment.

FBI director fired

As far as shocking the nation, President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey in May called into question whether Russia really had been meddling in our elections. As the FBI investigated links between Russia and the Trump campaign in regard to the 2016 presidential election, Comey testified before a Senate committee in June on what he knew. Trump insisted there was a new need for leadership in the FBI. Nevertheless, critics called the move “Nixonian.”

World terror attacks

2017 was a timeline of terror, with multiple attacks across the globe. Here are a few of the most devastating.

• London was hit repeatedly. In the Westminster Bridge attack, March 22, four people were killed and 50 others injured after an attacker drove into pedestrians on the bridge then continued on into the railings outside the Palace of Westminster, where he fatally stabbed an unarmed London police officer. On May 22, a suicide bomber with connections to an organized terror network killed 22 and injured dozens more people attending an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. On Sept. 15 there was terror on the Tube after a “bucket” bomb exploded on a London subway, causing mass panic and burns injuring 22 people.

• In Spain, a group of jihadists with ties to ISIS carried out a series of attacks in and around Barcelona, killing 16 people. On the famed Las Ramblas boulevard, a high-speed van mowed down tourists on Aug. 17, killing 14 and injuring more than 100 others. Eight hours later, a car plowed into pedestrians in the coastal town of Cambrils, 60 miles away, killing one and injuring six. Police shot five attackers dead.

• Terror attacks also hit France April 20 when a terrorist shot at a police van, killing one officer and injuring two people, on the Champs Elysees. On Feb. 3, a machete-wielding man attacked soldiers in the shopping mall near the Louvre.

Mass shootings

Two of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history took place in 2017. On Oct. 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada, 58 people were killed and more than 500 injured when a gunman, perched on the 32nd floor of a casino hotel, fired hundreds of bullets into a crowd of 22,000 gathered for an outdoor country music festival.

Police found 23 weapons inside the hotel suite plus thousands of rounds of ammunition and ingredients used in explosives in the shooter’s home and car. Many of the guns had devices, called “bump fire stocks,” attached to enable them to mimic fully automatic gunfire.

On Nov. 5, a gunman opened fire inside a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 and wounding 20 others — the largest mass shooting in the state’s history. Virtually no one in the church was left unscathed.

Opening up about assault

A simple two-word phrase — “Me too” — sparked scores of women to come forward on social media and publicly tell their stories of sexual harassment and assault. It began on Oct. 15 when actress Alyssa Milano urged women share their stories after film producer Harvey Weinstein’s history came to light. A floodgate opened as women (and some men) from all walks of life related their personal stories of abuse from men in powerful positions. It became a platform of empowerment documenting widespread sexism, harassment and misogynistic culture.

Notable deaths

Roy Halladay, 40: The former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher died Nov. 7 when the light sport aircraft he was flying crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. He was a two-time Cy Young award winner.

Fred Beckey, 94: The legendary mountain climber who made hundreds of first ascents over a seven-decade career, more than any other North American climber, died Oct. 30.

Fats Domino, 89: The rock ‘n’ roll pioneer born Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. in New Orleans is best known for “Ain’t That A Shame” and “Blueberry Hill.” He died of natural causes Oct. 24.

Robert Guillaume, 89: The distinguished actor and Emmy winner was a staple on Broadway before taking on defining television roles in “Soap” and “Benson.” The Emmy winner also voiced Rafiki in the Disney classic “The Lion King.” He died Oct. 24.

Tom Petty, 66: The dynamic frontman of The Heartbreakers, Petty was a mainstay of the music industry from the ‘70s until he died Oct. 2. The singer, songwriter and guitarist combined his deep Southern heritage with California rock to produce hit after hit, including “Free Fallin” and “Refugee.”

S.I. Newhouse, 89: American publisher of Conde Nast, Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker died Oct. 1.